Written Answers Tuesday 17 October 2006

Scottish Executive

Broadcasting

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of charges being faced by community radio stations in respect of broadcasting over the web; whether it will take any steps to protect community radio from the financial consequences of any such charges; whether it considers that any legislative reform should be made to protect community radio from such charges, and what representations it has made to Ofcom on these matters.

Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Broadcasting

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any contact with community radio stations such as Lochbroom FM, Oban FM, Argyll FM, Caithness FM, Nevis Radio, Speysound Community Radio, Isles FM, Ross FM, Two Lochs Radio, Cuillin FM and Ness Community Radio and whether it has any concerns that the existence of any of these community radio stations could be jeopardised by the impact of charges made by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and the Performing Right Society (PRS).

Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

  The Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) is a not for profit organisation that issues licences to play music in public places and collects royalties for the recording companies and performers for their rights in the sound recording. A PPL licence is therefore required when a radio station plays music or other sound recordings. The Performing Rights Society (PRS) issues licenses and collects royalties for composers and publishers.

  Any concerns about the impact of charges by these organisations should be raised with the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, Ofcom, through its website at www.ofcom.org.uk or by writing to Ofcom, Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA.

Broadcasting

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any steps to promote the continuance and survival of community radio stations.

Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Culture

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it takes to protect the cultural heritage of indigenous crafts within the global market place.

Patricia Ferguson: The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in overseas markets is a matter for the IPR owner.

Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has committed to the SCHOLAR programme since its inception; what resources it will commit, and whether it intends that the range of modern language teaching through this programme will be expanded.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive has provided £1,275,000 to the SCHOLAR programme since 2001 in order to help the programme get established. There are no plans to provide further support. The expansion of the programme is a matter for Heriot-Watt University and its partners.

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered merging the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Learning and Teaching Scotland.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Qualifications Authority and Learning and Teaching Scotland have distinctly different roles to perform but collaborate closely on key issues and increasingly share services through the co-location of their offices in Glasgow. Ministers have no plans to merge the two bodies.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of teachers to pupils has been in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: The information requested can be found in tables 6.2 and 7.2 of the 2005 Teacher Census. This can be accessed using the following hyperlink:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/03/28083648/0.

Justice

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether evidence of excessive speed as provided by an approved device is sufficient in itself to convict a driver or whether any further corroborative evidence is required.

Elish Angiolini QC: In terms of section 20 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, unless it is challenged by the accused, a record produced by a type approved device and a properly served certificate as to the circumstances in which the record has been produced can be sufficient evidence in law of the speed at which the vehicle was travelling.

  However, the identity of the driver requires to be corroborated (unless the accused has submitted a signed statement admitting that he or she was driving the vehicle at the relevant place and time).